At least 42 people have been killed in fresh clashes between pro-government forces and al-Shabab fighters over the control of a border town in southern Somalia.

“Our fighters tried to seize the border town (Dhobley) and killed more than 35 al-Shabab militants, mainly foreigners. We will continue our cooperation until we make sure the region is firmly under good hands,” said a government official.

Hundreds of heavily armed forces backed by Kenyan troops entered the strategic town on the border between Somalia and Kenya on Sunday while attempts by government forces to beat them back was repulsed by the militant group, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday.

Eyewitnesses also said that four civilians were among those killed, in addition to six others that were injured.

Somalia has been the scene of deadly clashes between rival factions for over two decades, leaving up to one million people killed.

There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDPs are sheltering in Mogadishu alone.

Most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.